How to Get Over 100 Comments on Your Blog Posts - A Retrospective

I have been here on ActiveRain writing for almost ten months. During that time, I have received 16,218 comments on my posts. I don't say this to brag, but to instruct (I hope).

I guess I am really not offering any specific writing tips other than showing you what has worked for me with regard to generating interest, comments, and a following. I was just sort of curious to see how many posts I have written which had over 100 comments received.

I culled through my entire blog history to see if I could find a theme for the "popular" posts. I was surprised to realize how many of them were not featured originally, yet they generated a lot of interest. This is really nothing more than simple curiosity on my part, but maybe it will help someone.

You can see from the list below that the most popular posts that I have composed are tutorials, humorous posts, and those with tips about real estate or service in general.

For the record, there are 30 which reached this milestone.

I have arranged them chronologically from first (in August 2007) to the most recent, and I have grouped them by category:

HUMOROUS POSTS

Worst photo contest - This humorous post was the first one that I wrote which crossed the century mark. I still think it was one of my favorites to this day. It was where I learned how to converse within the comments section. I think some of my best friends here first found me on this post.

Some Suggestions for New Active Rain Abbreviations - Do you LOL often? - This is likely the funniest post that I have written. It is also the post that my wife says gives the closest approximation to how I act in person.

Am I on Candid Camera? Punk'd Perhaps? - Funny post about some odd phone calls that I had received that week.

You Just Got BLOGGED! - Another humorous (and probably hijacked) post.

Here's to you, Mr. Client Who Doesn't Have a Clue - In the spirit of the "Real Men of Genius" Bud Light radio ads.

REAL ESTATE TIPS AND STORIES

View from the broker's desk - what makes a good agent? - This was my very first featured post, written about three weeks after I started blogging here. I recently used a link to this one in an ad for prospective agents on Yahoo, and I have received a good number of potential applicants.

A Watched Pot Never Boils - My Perspective on the National Market - If I were going to give someone a sample of my blog, this would probably be the post that I would choose. It includes family and real estate in an interesting analogy (at least in my opinion).

The Secret Ingredient is Empathy - Lessons from the Grocery Store - Not featured, but another one of my all-time favorites.

Reclaiming my "rookie" enthusiasm... - This was my first post to achieve over 200 comments. I think it still reads quite well.

Get Your Hand Out of my Pocket! - Handling Commission Beggars - Tips for handling clients and potential clients who want part of your paycheck.

So, You're Going on a Listing Appointment? How to Win Almost Every Time - Listing agent tips that have worked for me for over 11 years now.

Do you ever feel like the Gilligan of real estate? This was a somewhat humorous look at how it feels when starting out in the real estate business.

How to Properly Leave a Brokerage - Am I wrong to expect a call?

ACTIVERAIN COMMUNITY POSTS AND SUCCESS STORIES

What DOES the graphic say? - Julie Chapman helped to push this one over 100 comments TODAY!

What Active Rain Can Do For All of Us - This post was written as part of a debate over what is proper content, back in October 2007. I think it was among my more diplomatic pieces of writing.

3 Months on Active Rain So Far - An Evaluation of My Time Here - A retrospective on the first 90 days in the Rain.

READ THIS & You Will Continue Blogging - Active Rain works! - An early success story of mine.

FOUR referrals from My Active Rain Friends? I guess I must be doing something right!

How I got over $1 million worth of referral business from ActiveRain this week!

I Hit 200,000 Points Today - Time to Party!

My First ActiveRain Gathering (with photos)! Putting Some Faces with the Voices and Names

My Perspective on the Great ActiveRain Content Debate of 2008 - As the debate resurfaced, here is my take on the subject.

An Open Letter to the AR Newbie Who Sent Me a Deceptive SPAM Email Message

LIFE/PERSONAL POSTS

1988 - Memories and Music - This was a post which really just talked about which music I enjoyed in the year that I graduated from high school. For some reason, it really struck a chord with my friends.

David Wilder (1958-2008) - See You Again Someday, My Friend - This post was about the death of my close friend who passed away in late March.

Who's at the door? Oh, it's a gift of some sort! - Some of my good friends from Jacked! sent an interesting package to my home.

Suicide and Depression - Something we really DO need to talk about - This post about my friend who killed himself ended up resulting in some real help for a fellow AR member who lost a close relative to suicide in April.

TUTORIALS

What's all that stuff at the bottom of the post? - An Active Rain Tutorial - One of my first tutorial posts in the Rain.

How to generate and track backlinks for your Active Rain profile - A few basic SEO tips - This post holds the record for most comments for me, at 314 today.

How to Use Your ActiveRain "Statistics" Page - Viewing Your Subscriber List and Blog Entry Stats

How to Insert and Align Photos in Your ActiveRain Posts - Not Just for Newbies! - This one was also pushed over 100 comments by virtue of the post that you are now reading.

My next goal is to have a post that crosses 1000 comments, although I know from experience that this takes time and the commitment of a highly-skilled blog hijacking team to accomplish.

If you haven't done so already, this would probably be a great time to...